ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · straw · branch · face · craft · pass · march · wake

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. tear — from crying
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wake — a trail
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — a division
  10. face — to confront
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. craft — a skill
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pass — a permit
  16. tear — to rip
  17. face — to point toward
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. face — part of the head
  20. march — the month
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com